Demi Lovato Opens Up About Her Dark Struggles

Demi Lovato is the newest celebrity to open up about her struggles as a child actress.

Lovato became famous during her role starring on the Disney Channel's, "Sonny With a Chance". She also appeared alongside the Jonas Brothers on other Disney Channel movies, "Camp Rock" and "Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam,". It was then that she realized that she had a problem and checked into a rehabilitation facility.

In October 2010, Lovato ended her time on tour with the Jonas Brothers and entered rehab for the physical and emotional issues that she had been dealing with. Lovato says she used to not consider herself a role model, and that is why her life started spinning out of control.

"I used to say that too," she admitted during an interview with Entertainment Weekly. "That was my excuse to do whatever the f*** I wanted and not give a s*** about what other people thought. Then I ended up going through some stuff. I realized I'm never going to escape the fact that I'm in the public eye, so I might as well do the best I can."

Lovato is definitely not the first Disney star to fall off the path, however she is the first to do so while still filming for the network.

"When I went to rehab, I was still on the Disney Channel - I think I might be the first person who can say that! It wasn't like I could discreetly make the choice to go into treatment," she said. "My actions were very public. My manager told me, "You can decide not to talk about anything, or you can be completely honest." Now, at night, I can rest on my pillow easy because there's nothing I'm hiding.

Despite having to enter a facility for treatment, Lovato says that she has more fans supporting her now than ever before.

"When I was in treatment, I honestly thought my career was over," she said. "But when I came out of treatment, I had more supportive fans than ever. There are lots of artists who aren't honest - they put on a face. Nobody can relate to that face." She adds, "Growing up, I needed someone in the public eye to look up to. At the time, it was starlets clubbing and getting really, really thin. That's what I thought was cool and glamorous. But now I want to inspire that young girl who thinks she's overweight, or too thin, or not pretty enough."

The "X Factor" judge has also wrote a book documenting her struggles titled, "Staying Strong: 365 Days a Year", that is scheduled for release on November 19. When writing the book, Lovato says she was conflicted on whether to be completely honest about her darkest times. She says fans will be shocked at how bad things really were at one point. She hopes her story will help other people, who have been led astray, get back on the right path.

"I'm battling with internal thoughts on how honest I should be," she said. "Yes, I've been very honest, but if people really knew how dark and deep my struggles got — not just with my eating disorder but with drugs and alcohol — they'd be really shocked. But I'll most likely end up saying everything. Maybe it'll help other people in the industry who are headed down the wrong path."